How Much is the World Worth?
by Babs Laumer
Summary: It starts with people going missing. Where does it end up? Curious? Read the story! (And please review afterwards!) Thanks. :) Yes! Chapter 3 is finally up!
1. Default Chapter

How Much is the World Worth?  
  
Chapter 1:Unwinding  
  
By: Babs Laumer  
  
A/N: Sorry Crazy Queen 101; I didn't have anything planned for after 'It Has to be Done'. However, I've had this in mind for a while, and it's in the same vein, so I hope you enjoy! It will most likely be much longer than the other one. Oh! And thanks for the suggestion; I'm new here. :)  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the Justice League; they're the property of DC comics and whoever does the cartoons. Unfortunately, I don't get paid for this. I just think up stories and write them down for myself and others to enjoy. Oh, yeah, I'm just a college student, so you wouldn't get anything if you sued.  
  
I stormed through the halls of the watchtower, trying to keep my Amazonian temper in check. If I saw Flash too soon....  
  
I just needed to escape him for a while. After that prank he pulled, I'm just not in the mood. The trouble was, he was everywhere. Even when he KNEW I was mad at him. Where do you go to escape the fastest man alive? As soon as I asked myself the question, I veered to the right and made for the secondary computer room. When not on monitor duty, Batman could usually be found there researching something. If he's not in Gotham. Batman's "cheery" attitude was the best Flash repellant in the world. Besides, Batman wouldn't insist I talk about it either, and I could stew until I got myself under control without having to explain. For all Superman's a pretty nice guy, I don't feel like sharing right now.   
  
At the door, I slowed down so the door had time to open before I crashed through it. No point in getting Superman's tights in a twist. The door wooooshed! Open, and, sure enough, Batman sat staring intently at the screen, and typing intermittently. He was apparently unaware that someone just invaded his silent room. I knew better. The doors closed behind me, and the silence continued. It was blissful. I felt some of the annoyance flow away with the peacefulness of the room, and became suddenly curious as to what Batman was working on. Softly, I stole up behind him to get a better look.   
  
"Diana."   
  
  
  
I stopped in my tracks like I'd been caught with my hands in the cookie jar. His voice had that effect on people. The only person on the Justice League with no powers, and he could stare down Superman or keep Flash quiet. I smiled. It had taken some time, but I learned eventually that it is supremely hard, if not impossible, to sneak up on him.  
  
"What are you working on?"  
  
If he could play it cool, so could I. I stood just behind his chair, making sure to give him his space and stared at the screen. There were pictures of various people I didn't recognize, and under each collection was a country and city name.   
  
He leaned back in the chair, steepling his fingers under his chin after hitting a last key a bit harder than I thought necessary.   
  
"People have turned up missing around the world. Not enough in each country to cause more than the normal quota of alarm. But," he hit a couple of keys and a number scrolled across the screen, "...enough that together, it looks rather more serious. Some of the people are from fairly high positions, but none REALLY high. Gotham had several disappear this last week."  
  
"Any pattern?" I was becoming even more interested and, frankly, a touch concerned. When Batman started taking an interest, it rarely turned out as something short of important.   
  
"Aside from the manner they disappear and the thoroughness which with they do."  
  
"Any luck?" I stopped studying the screen and watched for his response. His jaw clenched tighter.  
  
"No."  
  
It sounded suspiciously as if he was in as much need as I to pound something. If his abruptness had anything to do with it.   
  
"Well," I started casually, examining my nails with apparent unconcern, "I need to get some training in. Want to join?"  
  
"Flash again?"   
  
I prayed to Hera that he didn't just see my jaw rebound off the floor. Pulling myself together, I answered coolly, "That's neither here nor there. But," I added a bit of humor to my voice, "you can only shadowbox yourself for so long before you can out maneuver yourself." And, I added privately, before that poor computer becomes a sizzling heap under your piercing stare.  
  
I could see he was tempted. I think he really needed a break, because he gave the computer a routine to do while he was gone, stood up, and gestured.  
  
"After you."  
  
I smiled after I had turned to the door. Batman's MUCH better than the Flash.  
  
"What rules should we spar under?" I had heard there were rules for this kind of thing, but since we weren't really going to do any damage anyway (besides to our pride), that I wasn't sure if it was necessary. Batman finished warming up, and faced me.   
  
"Any fighting style goes, but we'll avoid permanent damage." Pretty much as I figured. Well, I can handle that. Except, I have to be careful not to hurt him. He can use more force because it won't hurt me nearly so much as it would a non-powered person. A thought struck me.   
  
"Are gimmicks allowed?" He didn't move out of his crouch, but he paused.  
  
"Not unless ABSOLUTELY necessary." I was starting to feel much better, and I hadn't even started. Grinning, I decided I was crazy enough to up the stakes.  
  
"Loser makes the winner dinner?" Heh. It even rhymes. When the corner of Batman's mouth twitched upwards, I started to worry. What had I gotten myself into, anyway?  
  
Three seconds later, I found out. 


	2. Trouble

How Much is the World Worth? Chapter 2: Trouble  
  
By: Babs Laumer  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, I get no money from this, blah, blah, blah...you know the drill. ;)  
  
A/N: Sorry this took so long; death in the family, monster homework... Anyway, I hope you all enjoy.  
  
"That was hardly fair, tying me up with my lasso."  
  
"Expect the unexpected."  
  
I sighed. Now I had to come up with a dinner and then MAKE it. This was going to be a problem.  
  
"So, what do you like for dinner?" He drew up short, almost as if he was startled.  
  
"You don't have to."  
  
I crossed my arms and furrowed my brows.  
  
"Are you telling me something about my cooking?"  
  
We finally came up with a sort of system for dinners around here, particularly as some of us sort of live here. I'd made dinner once since the system was set up, and it was a mild success. At least no one threw up afterwards. Somehow Superman had convinced Batman to do dinner (don't ask me how), and he came up with a mouth watering dinner that, every so often, I crave for. I planned to ask for the recipe, but he was always conveniently gone. After the dinner, I overheard Superman talking to Batman. Something involving 'dinner' and 'butler'. Unfortunately, I was noticed, so I didn't get any more than that. Rats.  
Batman shook his head.  
  
"No. Anything you make should be fine." He turned all the way to face me. "Is that all? I have monitor duty."  
  
Well, there was one little detail...  
  
"What time is good for you?"  
  
Considering today was 'every person for themselves', I wouldn't worry about offending anyone. Starting with Superman, everyone went in rotation (when we were all here), and then there are a couple of days where everyone does their own thing.  
  
"8:00PM EST is fine." I did some math in my head. Hmmmm...can't go for anything taking longer than six hours. That still covered enough different choices that was acceptable. And that I had a chance of making without poisoning him.  
  
"Okay." He disappeared down the hallway in a swirl of cape and shadows. Almost makes me wish I had a cape. I slapped myself and started off toward the kitchen to see if I couldn't cook something up.  
  
I was just ready to add the noodles when the alarm went off. Half of them fell over the stove and onto the floor when I jumped, startled. Sighing, I turned off the stove, left the mess, and flew toward the monitor room.  
  
Just as I arrived, so did Superman. Everyone else showed up seconds later.  
  
"What happened?" Superman was hovering in back of Batman's chair, staring at the lit up screen. Batman didn't turn. He merely pointed at the screen and told us, "The U.S.S. Corona, Europa, and Gaela are sinking. They're large passenger vessels."  
  
"Where are they now?" A low beep sounded, and I looked for the source. It seemed to have come from...  
Batman pulled a cell phone out of his utility belt with his left hand, expertly flipped it open so it looked casual, and continued typing with his right. I wonder what else he keeps in there...  
  
"Yes?" Did his voice sound different, or was it just me? I looked at the others, and while Superman didn't seem to notice, Hawkgirl was staring at him oddly and Flash's head whipped around from staring at a computer screen in the corner. I stared at the computer screen, curious. What was Ages of the Empire anyway? It appeared to be more colorful than an encyclopedic web page. Batman's voice distracted me, and I turned to face the main screen again.  
  
"One moment." Batman hit a button on the phone and his voice became the same deep voice I recognized.  
  
"They're here [location]."  
  
Superman studied it. "Okay." As Superman turned to us, Batman turned his head around the big chair.  
  
"Go on ahead. I'll meet you in 15 minutes. I have some things to take care of."  
  
His head disappeared around the chair again. Superman shrugged.  
  
"All right, team, let's go!"  
  
Hawkgirl rolled her eyes, but we all followed. I smiled inwardly.  
  
The trip down in the Javelin was relatively uneventful. I watched the clouds rush past as we descended towards our destination. Suddenly Superman pulled the ship to a halt, unstrapped, and made for the door. I noticed that the Javelin hung gracefully in the air as I flew out to the ships below. They were a horrible mess. Flames rushed out of two, and the other was sinking into the wide expanse of blue ocean. People screamed on the decks, trying to escape as quickly as the life boats could be lowered. My mouth set itself in a firm line, and I swept towards the worst off boat, landing lightly next to Green Lantern. The others had paired up and went for the other two vessels. I set my eyes to sweep the deck, looking for that which must be done first. My eyes lit on a harried looking man with a captain's air as he ordered his men around. I advanced on him, and saw Green Lantern follow closely. The captain broke off in mid yell as he noticed us.  
  
"How may we help?"  
  
The captain stared at me a second, his jaw dropped a bit. Suddenly realizing what he was doing, he pulled it closed into a scowl.  
  
"The third class passengers are trapped two "floors" down. The corridor collapsed, and the fire started in the engines, the level underneath them."  
  
He passed a hand nervously across his forehead, wiping away the sweat. I closed my eyes. Great Hera. Without another word, I flew at the door to the bowels of the ship, Green Lantern pulling off the door before I smashed through it. I landed just inside the door, as the smoke prevented me from seeing clearly. Coughing, Green Lantern touched my shoulder, indicating the stairway. Nodding, I followed. The smoke was, if possible, thicker at the third level. I could hardly breathe at this point.  
  
"We're here." Squinting into the smoke, I coughed again.  
"Where?" Green Lantern used his ring as a light, and the collapsed corridor showed faintly in gleam of the green light.  
We soon cleared it, and got to the other side. A door stood to our left, and there were crying sounds behind it. I opened the door and we rushed in to find...nothing. It was the main part of a comfortable cabin, and there seemed to be a door going off from it, but no one was in there. That didn't make sense...  
  
"Where are they?"  
  
"I thought someone was in here..." The cry sounded again, and Green Lantern opened the other door and looked in. He soon popped his head out, shaking his head.  
  
"No one's in there, either." He looked suspicious, and I must admit I WAS starting to wonder. Wonder. Wonder Woman. Heh. Something was bothering me.  
  
"That cry couldn't have been from out of this room." Green Lantern looked grim.  
  
"It wasn't." He held up a speaker. My eyes widened. Then it hit me. I could see.  
  
"Where did the smoke go? I thought this part of the ship was supposed to be the worst."  
  
"Maybe it's because the door is shut." I turned and looked at the door, and sure enough it was closed. That's strange, I don't remember closing it...  
  
"Di..Diana? Green...Lan..Lantern...trap... Uhhhh." I felt my insides go cold.  
  
"Superman? Come in!" Static greeted us. Green Lantern started for the door, but, instead of getting smaller as he should when going farther away, he was getting bigger. When he hit the floor, the room started swirling. I gripped my head to keep it from falling off, but it wasn't working. Breathing was...getting difficult.  
  
"Diana? What's the status?" What? I thought foggily. Let's see I was gripping my head and...  
  
set off the communicator. I was never so happy to hear his gravely voice. If only I was alive enough to appreciate it.  
  
"ETA 5 minutes." No! I was on my knees now, and closed my eyes to keep me from getting sick.  
  
"No...trap...gas.....oh, Hera..." Then I hit the floor, and the last thing I remember before blacking out was his voice yelling in my ear.  
  
"DIANA!" 


	3. Out of the Frying Pan

How Much is the World Worth?  
  
Chapter 3: Out of the Frying Pan...  
  
By: Babs Laumer  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, I get no money from this, blah, blah, blah...you know the drill. ;)  
  
A/N: Hi! I'm back! Thank goodness the semester is winding down. Sorry I took so long. But, here it is! The next installment! YAY! Oh, and I changed the communication thing to " ". You'll get it when you see it. :)  
  
"DIANA!"  
  
Static. Savagely, I punched the communicator off and banked the Batplane left, circling for a faster approach route. BEEP BEEP  
  
The radar's beeping increased. I had company.   
  
If I squinted, I could make out the boats in the water, smoke billowing away, obscuring much of the airspace surrounding it. I have a bad feeling about this; even knowing it's a trap. Just short of the smoke, I swerved to go around, so I could better see the situation. That's when the alarm blared through the cockpit. Sending the plane into drop and roll dive, I sent an interceptor to get rid of the missile going for my port side. Which set me up right behind my new 'friend'. The alarm blared again, louder. I waited till the last moment, tailing the guy who'd tried to turn my plane into Swiss cheese, then dropped under him and shot ahead as the missile hit the plane behind me in the wing. The radar showed ten more planes in the area. It's starting to get crowded. And I don't like the odds.   
  
This never stopped me before, and I didn't intend for it to happen now. I have too much to do before I meet my maker. For now, stalling for time was the best choice I had while I attended to other...developments. Quickly, I glanced toward where the ships were, and whispered, "I'll be back for you."  
  
Andy was excited. He was going to help take out BATMAN!   
  
His life had been one hardship after another, and all he wanted was to be noticed. Even though he was the 'new rookie' in this organization, it had great perks. As long as you avoided the Big Boss's bad moods. He winced. The last guy who screwed up was a smear on the wall. Brrrr! He didn't want to think about that. Instead, he turned to his bomber sitting beside him.   
  
"Yo! Rodge! You got your trigger finger ready?" An eyebrow raised.  
  
"When DON'T I?"   
  
"Ooookay! Then buckle your safety belts, and let's BURN!" He pushed the throttle forward, enjoyed the rush as his stomach did a couple of somersaults. They were closing in on the Batplane, as the other members of the squadron distracted it with heavy fire. Which the Batplane neatly avoided through a series of very complicated maneuvers. Andy whistled in appreciation. This guy was good.   
  
"You never heard of Batman, have ya, kid?"  
  
"Well...I heard he's a human with a god complex." Rodger shook his head.  
  
"You been listnin' to the Boss too much." Andy threw their plane hard to the right, chasing Batman's plane, and Rodge continued his firing pattern.  
  
"What have YOU heard then?"  
  
"I heard he AIN'T human. Heard he ate guys like you'n me fer breakfast. And...has the power to...disappear." Andy snorted, was about to reply when the Batplane, which had been about to break through the fighters and escape, encountered the reinforcements of twenty more planes. The Batplane flipped over, and streaked for just above Andy's plane.   
  
"Move! Move!" Andy sat rooted to his seat, jaw dropped for a second. Then he started to move them down and out of the way when his partner reached across to do the maneuver himself. The result was that the plane turned sideways and down, scraping the bottom of the Batplane with a hard, high pitched screeeeeeching! sound. Andy finally managed to shove his partner away, and get SOME kind of control back, though it didn't help that they'd lost the tip of their left wing. He let them spiral towards the left, and saw the enemy plane limping away. When one of the other planes shot it, in the wing, it lost altitude and spiraled downwards toward the water, spewing a smoky cloud as it went. Andy sighed with relief.  
  
"See? WE GOT HIM!"   
  
"Maybe."  
  
"You're just sore 'cause his plane didn't do a whoooosh! disappearing act."   
  
"The sarcasm is lost, kid. I've heard it before."  
  
"Yeah? Well, his plane is going up in smoke, and...whoa!" The afore mentioned plane had, as they followed it down, nearly hit water level when it accelerated upwards toward the sky again. Rodger smirked.  
  
"Yeah?" Andy glowered at the runaway plane in a bat shape, and followed it, as did the rest of the squadron. Rodge guffawed as he continued shooting at the plane trying to make its escape. Finally, someone hit the gas tank and the Batplane dropped like a stone when the fuel leaked.   
  
It hit the water with a huge splash, and guys on the water standing by for the splashdown zoomed up to apprehend the guy inside. They crawled over the plane like ants, as they made their way up the side.   
  
Twenty minutes later the call came through.  
  
"Did you get him?" Andy's "I told you so" grin covered his whole face. Rodger simply sat there, ignoring it.  
  
"We can't find him."  
  
"What?" The grin faded.  
  
"Comb the waters, people; there wasn't anyone in that plane." 


End file.
